Sega Ages: Sonic the Hedgehog overview | 'Hog wild | SEGAiden #01

There's more to video game history than just Nintendo, and in this Video Works offshoot, we'll take occasonal looks at essential classic games from SEGA-both historical releases and current reissues. This debut episode is a little of both, intersecting with one of SEGA's most important creations ever and developer M2's attempt to pay it tribute with a new remaster for Nintendo Switch.
OOPS! Housekeeping notes on things I misremembered or misspoke on: SEGA Ages for Saturn also included arcade games; some of the tragic 3D Ages games did come to the U.S. in a heartwrenching compilation for PS2; and M2 became involved in the SEGA 3D Ages 2500 line with Vol. 20, not Vol. 2. D'oh.

[@DarkHeroAkutare]

It feels like most reviews of Sonic 1 I come across these days go along the lines of "Marble Zone makes you slow down and the level design doesn't let you go fast so it sucks." I'm glad you don't take that tack in your review, even though you acknowledge that the precision platforming is a way bigger part of this game than people tend to think of when they think "Sonic." For me, Sonic 1 remains one of my favorite Sonic games and I actually prefer it to 2.

[@METR0lD]

Never stop doing what you do. You have some of the best content on KZbin.

[@danrenfroe2016]

amen

[@danmons7446]

Eep, that was my post at 1:06 . Many thanks, Jeremy, for this excellent series, and for taking the time to show some Sega love. No shade-casting here. :)

[@JeremyParish]

Haha, thanks for coming clean!

[@Segasocks]

The original Sega Ages on Saturn released in Europe and America consisted of arcade ports and not Mega Drive/Genesis conversions.

[@sdragon21]

I honest to god can’t wait to see you do videos of both Virtua Racing and Phantasy Star for Segaiden when they release, especially since this is the first time Virtua Racing is getting a 1/1 Arcade port.

[@slopesgameroom]

fantastic overview, looking forward to finding some time to enjoy this one myself

[@Channel9001]

Actually a collection of a handful of the "Sega Ages" 3D abominations for PS2 DID make it to the US. Under the confusing title of "Sega Classics Collection", Not to be confused with "Sega Genesis Collection" for PS2, which is just a compilation of 2D games from the Mega Drive/Genesis. It was all very confusing for people just wanting to play some Sonic.

[@folkenhellfang9468]

Loved the next episode bit. Great work, sir.

[@JoeBushOnline]

Thank you for shining light on this, I envied the Japanese PS2 players who got some of those later Sega 3D Ages releases so I'm glad SEGA's giving something to Switch players here

[@viewtifuljoe99]

This makes me very happy to see Sega get the same attention. Very cool!

[@Pichuscute]

Would love to see you do Game Gear at one point.

[@SEGAClownboss]

5:13 - You can easily recognise an amateur Sonic player when you see he doesn't curl into a ball when going down slopes. At least you owned up to it later in the video :D Anyway thanks for this Jeremy, you've pleasantly surprised us with going into Sega stuff. I'll also be sure to check out Generation 16. Also I'm glad you see that there's a depth in Sonic 1 which many surface-level fans don't notice or fail to appreciate. Sonic 1 was never really about speed as much as it was about careful, but very creative and versatile platforming using a noticably weighty and inert character, and I think it's the game's (and the franchise's) greatest strength.

[@TheAmishGamer]

"You can easily recognise an *amateur* Sonic player..." Now I'm wondering how much you get paid to play Sonic xD

[@chanceaaronblack2792]

Wow this was cool! I'm excited to see more Sega stuff here. :j

[@jonothanthrace1530]

I wonder if the reason Sega is so ardent about keeping their stuff in circulation is because they don't make consoles anymore.

[@vorlonesque1830]

The Sega Ages remakes did come to the states in the form of the Sega Classics Collection, which had one redeeming feature as I remember; a pretty good port of Virtua Racing that despite some minor effects and gameplay features was a fairly faithful port that outside of emulation or buying an arcade cab is probably the best way to play that game at home now I think.

[@AnalJacket]

m2 actually just confirmed virtua racing is getting the switch sega ages treatment as well

[@jmn327]

Great call on an aspect of Sonic I always appreciated back in the day: that you actually had some motivation to explore the levels rather than just running through as quickly as possible. When Sonic didn't translate so well to 3D, I remember feeling that was a big component that was missing from the experience.

[@EdmacZ]

I thought Sonic Adventure 1 did this pretty well with multiple routes and pathways. But Sonic Adventure 2 and onward reduced the series to its very bare minimum. Pure spectacle over substance.

[@neilbrownell4532]

I love the Video Works series and the Retronauts podcast - thank you for all the great content you make!

[@discordinc]

Glad to see you covering the Sega Ages. May M2 port Sega games forever

[@TheJadeFist]

I somehow find the "3ds not powerful enough, and needed the Switch" not entirely a convincing statement. The 3ds had multiple sound channels, and was should have been able to handle even arcade quality games from the early 90's.

[@sausagesausage]

Being a SEGA fan, but not really much of a Nintendo fan, I'll happily subscribe to this channel if you cover all the SEGA AGES titles, as I do like the style in which you present.

[@spacemeng]

Best name for a series yet from Jeremy. Can't wait to see more.

[@jerichogm14]

Looking forward to more from this series. Thank you for making them.

[@roberto1519]

This is Sonic's 30th anniversary (past June 2021), I was waiting for something special this year, yet, only fan made content is worth checking out, like the PC port of the enhanced Christian Whitehead IOS/Android version with widescreen and the expanded options of this version.

[@contrabandresearch8409]

I didn't know how much effort SEGA and others were putting into preserving and enhancing their games.

[@videogameobsession]

They could add stereoscopic 3D support to these Switch releases. It would have worked great for those with 3D displays, but of course many people have moved away from that tech. M2 added stereoscopic 3D support to Super Hang-On on the PS3 Sega Classics port, and it's one of the best looking 3D games of that generation IMO. Very few people even know it's even an option in it.

[@mullinsjm1]

Can't give this enough likes. Star light zone is my favorite level, just because the music. :)

[@RemnantCult]

Can't wait for that Thunder Force IV video.

[@SuperFirstSecond]

The most exciting thing for me is that M2 and Sega are planning on getting to newer stuff. Genesis and the early arcade titles are fine, but Saturn, Dreamcast, and the later arcade boards, that's the stuff I've been wanting for ... ages.

[@Justin-rv7oy]

Thank you for covering SEGA without the sarcasm / Nintendo-tilt of Retronauts main (east is fine)

[@darylmodjeski698]

Correction..Sega ages were arcade ports for the sega saturn in japan. and Working Design basicly took 3 of the arcade game and put them on one disk. They were sold individually, These were NOT Genesis games but games that were like the arcade counterparts,

[@KuraIthys]

mmmh. I've played sonic so much at this point I can typically get to stage 4 or 5 without dying, and finishing the game is no major problem. (sonic 2 as well, though sonic 3 & knuckles still gives me some issues.) I generally can't manage collecting all the chaos emeralds though, not without using save states. But... The main game, yeah, I can get through that more often than not...

[@erichusayn]

Excellent video dude!

[@xDethax]

M2 is usually great, but this release has new collision issues (mostly encountered when drop dash is toggled on - you don't have to actually be doing drop dash to experience it) and more frame-rate issues than the original release. The D3 emulation is more accurate.

[@Tempora158]

1:11 That was a collection of ports of the arcade versions of the games, not the Genesis versions.

[@themblan]

I really like it when Nintendo-fans give Sega-games a shot. Kudos.

[@MynameisHukos]

To be honest, I'm more excited about seeing your take on Thunder Force IV than Sonic.

[@videogameobsession]

Christian Whitehead's Sonic the Hedgehog, along with Sonic CD, and Sonic 2 were not only released for iOS, but also on Android, as well as a Amazon Fire TV port. The Fire TV port is actually my favorite way to play it, aside from on the original Model 1 Genesis on a Wega CRT via HD Retrovision component cables. The Fire TV port of Sonic looks incredible and runs at a silky smooth 60fps. The aspect correct 16:9 video looks super vivid and plays great with a Bluetooth controller. It's a shame Sega didn't incorporate this version as an optional way to play it. It would have looked beautiful filling the 16:9 screen of the Switch sans stretching, but then of course they would have also had to license Whitehead's RetroEngine, further increasing the cost.

[@duffman18]

There's ways to do this on a PC. I plug my pc into my big TV anyway. You can get an ios or android emulator for pc, then get the whitehead sonic games for that emulated phone, and play these games on a big TV with a gamepad, because Sega refuse to put them on steam for some stupid reason.

[@Dark.Shingo]

Shuck... If we had this on PC...

[@gamephreak5]

Actually Jeremy, those Sega 3D Ages on the PS2 saw release in the US through a Sega 3D Ages compilation called "Sega Classics Collection", which had 3D Space Harrier, Golden Axe, Fantasy Zone, and more. Those 3D versions of Genesis/SEGA Arcade classics, as bad as they are, have a charm to them. Not 3D Golden Axe though; the controls in that one is just BAD.

[@JAMJR84]

Didn't the remake of Phantasy Star also get an English release? (But not the sequel unfortunately.)

[@thewindthatblows]

The music was epic though

[@DrCorndog1]

Whoa, didn't realize these Ages releases will go beyond Genesis games. Could this mean I'll finally get to play the Master System version of Sonic 2?

[@danieldavis2055]

Interesting video. You know though- those Sega commercials always made me cringe a little bit as a kid. Mario World might have been a little slower paced, but it demonstrated that Nintendo was always bringing new and interesting mechanics to the public- whether it be the spin jump, Yoshi, or finally introducing the concept of saving your game progress to the series, SMW really WAS a step forward. Sonic was... a game where you gotta go fast... and that was pretty much it. You couldn't save your progress and the damned thing gave you a bad ending if you didn't get every single every emerald which made the stage skip completely useless. Regardless of what the advertising kept saying, to me it honestly felt like a step backwards when compared to its Super NES counterpart, especially when you got far in the game, REALLY needed to go do something else and had to make the choice as to risk leaving the console on for however long you might be away.

[@badgamehalloffame]

I, for one, am very excited for the upcoming Atari Works series that must be coming soon. Because clearly, you're not working yourself hard enough / covering enough ground as is, Jeremy. (Joking. Glad to see videos from you regardless of whoever the publisher / manufacturer may be.)

[@videogameobsession]

Actually, Sega Classics came out in North America for the PS2. www.videogameobsession.com/videogame/ps2/PS2-SegaClassics-vgo.jpg It's a collection of 9 JPN Sega Ages releases on a single disc. Sega Classics Collection (9 Games) __________________________________ Alien Syndrome From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 14 Bonanza Bros. From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 6 (also includes Tant-R) Columns From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 7 Fantasy Zone From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 3 Golden Axe From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 5 Monaco GP From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 2 OutRun From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 13 Space Harrier From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 4 Virtua Racing From (JPN) Sega Ages Vol. 8

[@jamesstewart7784]

I don't understand why there isn't any Widescreen support or just bring over the IOS port in general. I mean give it to us as an option if possible, they managed to throw in the drop dash.

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

Love this. Though, Sonic 2 got me into Sonic and Sega then.

[@vectorman1890]

Thanks for making vids like this

[@ericspratling9252]

I am torn between saying "we don't deserve M2" and angrily demanding why ALL retro release teams aren't as good as they are.

[@mosab432]

Yaaas!

[@THEmuteKi]

The widescreen in the mobile port is nice, but it has a tendency to mess with most of the boss battles. I also never really liked how it changed the rotation physics in the special stage. It's a lovely thing that I'm glad exists but I definitely can't hate on Sega leaning on M2 for work like this.

[@tangentofaj]

YAY A NEW SERIES!!!!

[@chadkirk150]

Wow. I really didn't see the point in getting this game since the sega collection is coming out on switch but you've convinced me otherwise. It would be cool to check out the mega play option.

[@Poever]

Look on the bright side, this isn’t a call-in podcast or something.

[@ToonReel001]

My only problem is that while the emulation for the standard game is (FINALLY) pretty solid, some of the extras feel half baked. The Spin Dash and Drop Dash are cool, but they aren't refined and have glitches that can ruin momentum. Also Time Attack for only the first act in the game seems a bit esoteric, especially after versions like Jam have offered Time Attack for every act. It's still better than nothing, but I'm kinda left going 'huh?' with that one.

[@pixelsrnautded9286]

Too bad they used the US rom as it was incomplete. The Japanese version has all the extra layers of parallax scrolling and underwater effects in Labrinynth zone.

[@ChristopherMeadors]

4k is great for scanline simulation. 2160 is an integer multiple of 240. And modern retro 720p games can be scaled by non-fractional amounts. Are the scanlines any better in portable mode?

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Man... As much as I really appreciate SEGA's retro efforts, I wish we could see M2's amazing work on PC as well.

[@Vekstar]

Hey I don't wish to be a rude and I am willing to wait a few years. But after your virtual boy works,can you catch up on segaidin?

[@Septer_Sever]

It's about time Jeremy Parish!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@rooty]

I wish Sega Ages was on PS4, I'd love to play games like Phantasy Star and Sonic for trophies.

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

Isn't the Genesis Classics collection what you want then?

[@ericspratling9252]

Cameo from Tim at 11:45

[@JeremyParish]

We're all Tim fans here.

[@JasonMontell2501]

Gaiden = Side Story?

[@weclock]

You should link to where you can buy the games featured.

[@WilliamStoneContentZone]

Hype

[@T3hKaiser]

Yo shoutouts to Girls Garden.

[@silentgreybox]

I've lived on Nintendo alone since 1987

[@sausagesausage]

Gross

[@silentgreybox]

#blessed

[@TheTraveller777]

Huh Pro Controller indeed works fine for me.

[@JeremyParish]

Weird. Like I said, I can navigate menus just fine, but once the game begins the Pro Controller doesn't register any inputs within the emulator shell. I tried reseting the game, using the controller with other games, etc., and nothing worked.

[@Robin64]

Same.

[@sailorvenusfan6527]

Yeah it worked fine for me too.

[@gameguy73]

The pro works fine for me.

[@gamephreak5]

I used 8bitdo's Mega Drive Six Button DIY controller with this game and it works perfectly fine...

[@dudinacas]

I doubt it'll happen but I'd love M2 to do a port of Crack Down. One of the most underrated Sega arcade games out there.

[@Radi0inactivity]

"working designs" aw man do you ever just cry? I miss Working Designs' releases so much.

[@tsp1999]

I was the 1000th like

[@darktetsuya]

really, no pro controller support?! ouch that's definitely a glaring omission. :( I already have sonic on a few different formats as it is (and will likely just get it again when the Genesis Collection launches for Switch later this year) so I'll probably pass on this version. But if they announced a conversion of Sonic 2 I might be convinced to double-dip for that! (especially if they address the pro controller thing) also I've seen that mega play conversion of sonic... yeah hope you're good at speedrunning Sonic, otherwise you're quite screwed! :P

[@TheTraveller777]

Yeah pro controller does work.

[@videogameobsession]

Wait_, what?! I thought EVERY Switch game automatically worked with the Pro Controller, aside from a few obscure motion controlled games, like 1-2 Switch... That's BS. I was considering buying Lightening Force (TFIV) when that comes out, but I'm definitely not playing that with JoyCons.

[@TheTraveller777]

Pro does work, its strange Jeremy and some others are reporting some issues though.

[@duffman18]

@@TheTraveller777 perhaps it was a launch day bug that was quickly patched out. Jeremy may have got a pre release reviewer build

[@duffman18]

OK yeah just got to the end of the video, yeah he said he got a early reviewer build. So that must have been patched out really quickly and now the pro controller works. Shame that people might avoid buying it because reviewers are saying the pro controller doesn't work, but then again Sega shouldn't have sent them builds with such a glaring error

[@InnoVintage]

The Genesis and SNES are interesting in the way they used their 16 bit hardware, the Genesis was made to be a powerhouse for arcade ports and techinchal showcases, but Nintendo had already made their arcade port console, and wanted to narrow in on the features that home consoles did best, so the SNES lent itself to deliberate and slow experiences.

[@GameBoyGuru]

Great overview, Jeremy. Sonic the Hedgehog was the game that made me betray Nintendo, and sell off my Game Boy. Yes, I was previously a multiplat guy, equally enjoying both NES and Atari 2600 at friend’s houses, but the first system I owned myself was the Game Boy. I had played Altered Beast and Last Battle at a classmate’s house, and was impressed with the Genesis early on, but when he brought home Sonic the Hedgehog, and I got a chance to play it, all bets were off. Within months, I had sold my Game Boy, and saved up enough money so that my younger brother and I could go in together, and buy a Sega Genesis, mom & dad’s old TV, and a couple extra games. We poured over Sonic for weeks, and even did time trials ourselves with a couple friends, trying to figure out who could get through the early stages the fastest. I held the record, at just 30 seconds for Green Hill Zone 1. I became a “Sega kid” and was happy to do so. I still prefer Sonic’s original outing to its successors, because I feel like it’s still the most tightly designed of the original games. Seeing it well preserved in this form definitely makes me happy to see that the impact of the original game is still felt in the industry, even if the Sonic canon is full of hits and misses. I’m also thrilled to see Thunder Force IV on Switch, and that it was chosen for the Ages line. Its original US release, as Lightening Force, was the first shmup I bought for the Genesis, and remains my favorite shooter to this day. I’m happy to see them add the functionality of playing as the craft from Thunder Force III, as was present in the Thunder Force Gold Pack 2, on Sega Saturn, because it will add another dimension to explore in my favorite shoot-em-up. I look forward to your overview of that release.

[@91-mph73]

why not call SEGAiden as just "Sega Works?"

[@JeremyParish]

Because it's not a full Works project.

[@QGmonkey64]

You say early on that the early 3D ages for ps2 didn’t hit the USA but they actually did in a collection release for ps2 (and yeah other then virtua racing the games were bad)

[@gnohman8580]

The PS2 release was called Sega Classics Collection. Though the colors were less vibrant across the games, I thought Alien Syndrome & Fantasy Zone (with new added stages and bosses) were good. For ones that weren't released as part of the Classics Collection, I also liked Phantasy Star generation:01, Gain Ground, After Burner, & Phantasy Star generation:02. generation:04 was in the talks if the Sega Ages 3D 2500 line hadn't shifted to the superior M2-developed releases

[@JeremyParish]

You know, I owned that, and it was so godawful I completely wiped it from my memory. My bad.

[@IanThunderbolt]

Some of the 3D Sega AGES games did see a release in a compilation in US and Europe, so your statement about them being Japan only is only half true

[@JeremyParish]

See episode description.

[@pop2uno]

Your voice sounds different, a bit higher pitched. A new mic? Puberty? A new vocal coach? Been a fan since EGM, so thanks for your work. Cheers from Mexico.

[@fandabidozi793]

that’s...not how puberty works...

[@wildcard13294]

I'm that person who plays Switch games with the GameCube controller. Seriously it is by far the best Nintendo controller ever made (in my opinion at least) and if I have to option to use it, I will never use anything else.

[@fireflocs]

Tell Tim I said hi.

[@DrCorndog1]

I have just about every Genesis game available on Steam already, but I may not be able to resist the allure of Gunstar Heroes on Switch.

[@LordNEG]

Note: Pro controller works, if someone else hasn't mentioned already. Sadly not perfect. Adding the PAL version is something Sonic Mega Collection managed 10+ years ago now (along with Wii VC). It's a part of the games legacy, even if it wasn't an intended one. That and the lack of iOS's extras (Tails, Widescreen) are a sorely missed opportunity of being the greatest release of Sonic 1 to date. A shame, since the ring leader board, arcade version and mania move set are great additions. If I had to nitpick further, the choice of wallpaper is surprisingly bland, and unlike Thunder Force IV, no extras for beating the game.

[@LordNEG]

I feel like I should clarify: this release bothers to give us 3 versions of Sonic 1, excluding the PAL version, hence the annoyance. I suppose if they wanted to go another step further, they could also have included two others: Sonic 1 Master System and Game Gear. Both of which saw re-releases in one way or another (Wii VC for the former, Sonic Adventure DX and Gems Collection for the latter) in the not too distant past. I do love M2 (Out Run 3D springs to mind), but not all their works are seemingly equal, alas. This may be a repeat of the Altered Beast 3D situation, where M2 were first getting to grips with the system before blowing 3DS owners minds with later releases.

[@ToonReel001]

I could argue that there wasn't really a PAL version, the lack of optimisation for 50hz PAL TVs is why it has any difference in the first place.

[@LordNEG]

Sure, but it's the version Europe grew up with regardless, and it's something both SEGA and Nintendo understood enough to offer, up to a point. The importance of options. What do I miss out on? The whole soundtrack sounding not quite right. If what we're paying re-releases for is partly for the nostalgia, then 50hz should be noted as an option some would still appreciate.

[@ToonReel001]

I don't think that was them 'understanding' as much as them just always giving us the ROM as is each time, while the Switch and AGES version is optimised to always give a smooth 60hz performance even in PAL format, even if it takes away a bit of that nostalgia.

[@LordNEG]

Both the GC and Wii could run at 60hz. For Mega Collection, you had to hold the Z button for it to go into PAL/50hz version of Sonic 1. There was a similar button prompt for accessing the Japanese version. When it comes to Wii, Nintendo gave no option BUT the 50hz/PAL version for the majority of the VC library (to titles that actually apply) to the annoyance of many. When asked why, Nintendo had noted it was sometimes due to translations available in the PAL version (Super Metroid is selectable in 3-4 languages in the PAL version) and other times simply because it was what Europe got originally. So no, it was not the ROM as is in either case. It was a option (in Nintendo's case, a forced option) given to the consumer.

[@depressivetangela2033]

Shame this does not include the Master System version of the game

[@jordansgarioto3398]

13:00 - What song is this?

[@LakituAl]

The "on the next episode" music for Evangelion

[@jordansgarioto3398]

+LakituAl Thank you.

[@captainnintendo]

No Pro Controller support! Seriously? O_o

[@JeremyParish]

Supposedly it works for other people? Dunno.

[@dpgreene]

Sega!? Et tu Brute?

[@ButcherGrindslam]

Special stage, NOT bonus stage.

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

Oh man how did I not know you were doing Sega content. Hell yeah. I'm only laughing a little at how bad you are at the game.

[@ButcherGrindslam]

NOT port, EMULATION.

[@Real_The_Goof]

I wish they had used the Japanese version of Sonic 1 It had way better parallax effects. But it looks like they used the old US rom.

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

He shows a menu where you're able to choose which one you want to play.

[@felipeparra3502]

playstation works

[@PenisGabber]

Oh fuck yeah